44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 30, 2023 10:00AM
- Mar/30/23 2:54:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, small and medium-sized businesses are the backbone of Canada's economy. Unlike the government, the men and women behind these businesses are in direct contact with Canadians and know how to run a company.
Lo and behold, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business consulted over 4,300 business leaders, and the result is a scathing indictment of this government: 61% of Canadian business leaders are opposed to the carbon tax increase this Saturday.
The government may look down on the Conservatives, but could it at least listen to business leaders?
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- Mar/30/23 2:55:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is very interesting to hear my Conservative colleague talk about the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, because the CFIB highlighted just how extraordinary budget 2023 is for small business.
It is this Liberal government that has an agreement with the banks and credit card companies to reduce credit card transaction fees for small businesses, resulting in over $1 billion in savings. That is absolutely incredible, and it will benefit Canadians.
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- Mar/30/23 2:55:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government has a talent for ballooning the credit card statements of every Canadian with its compulsive deficits.
That same report is rather scathing for other reasons. Again, 4,300 small business leaders say that 40% of them will reduce investments, 45% will cut salaries, and 56% will increase the cost of products. This has a direct, meaningful and very tangible impact on Canadians if, by some misfortune, the government increases the tax on Saturday.
Could the government act for the good of all Canadians and cancel this tax on April 1?
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- Mar/30/23 2:56:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Louis‑Saint‑Laurent, for whom I have a great deal of respect.
In addition to having listened to entrepreneurs, we have listened to all Canadians. Canadians are asking us to do three things: help them with the cost of living, invest in health and build an economic future that will foster prosperity and clean jobs for the future.
I can assure my colleague from Louis‑Saint‑Laurent that Canadian entrepreneurs are looking at our plan and its different credits and seeing that we are headed to a green economy. That is the best way to create jobs for today and the future.
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- Mar/30/23 2:57:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there are plenty of health care needs in Quebec.
Rather than responding to those needs in the budget, the Liberals are creating a new dental care program on top of the one we already have in Quebec. That is close to $3 billion that Quebec could put into areas where it would be more useful or use to improve the existing program. That is why the Quebec National Assembly just unanimously called for Quebec to have the right to opt out with full compensation.
Will the government commit to honouring the unanimous request of Quebec's elected officials?
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- Mar/30/23 2:57:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.
First, it gives me an opportunity to acknowledge what we heard from Quebec today. People across the country believe in the importance of dental care, which is essential to overall health. Second, two to three million Quebeckers will be able to benefit from the Government of Canada's new dental insurance plan in the coming years. Lastly, all of this will be done in co-operation with all of the provinces, including Quebec.
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- Mar/30/23 2:58:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there are needs throughout Quebec's health care system. The system is in crisis.
The Liberals did not prioritize those needs in their budget. The Liberals prioritized the needs of the Liberals. They have not listened to Quebec's demands. Their main concern is to make sure they stay in power by maintaining their alliance with the NDP. Their priority is insuring a majority, not insuring dental care.
Is the government committed to respecting Quebec's unanimous request? I repeat: It is asking for the right to opt out with full compensation.
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- Mar/30/23 2:58:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for making that connection and focusing on Quebeckers' needs, which are just as important as the physical health, mental health and oral health needs of all other Canadians.
The Quebeckers I have been talking to for quite some time now are happy to see that between two and three million Quebeckers, families with average and modest incomes, will be able to take advantage of this new Canadian government dental plan over the next few years.
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- Mar/30/23 2:59:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, gas, home heating and groceries are more expensive than ever before. This is not new news. That costly coalition is punishing families by pushing people further into debt, and the additional financial stress brought on by this budget will wreak havoc and chaos on so many levels.
In Ontario, the Parliamentary Budget Officer reported that carbon tax would cost approximately $1,800 per household. The government has created a new class: the tax-poor class, people who are going to work hard all of their lives and have little to show for it. Canadians need solutions.
Will the Liberals cancel their plans to increase the carbon tax this Saturday?
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- Mar/30/23 3:00:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, everyone knows that the first thing we did when we came into government was lower taxes for the middle class, but our government has also increased the amount that every Canadian can earn before paying even a penny of federal income taxes. We have increased that to $15,000. That is $3,673 more that one can earn tax-free. It is just another way that we are making life affordable for all Canadians.
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- Mar/30/23 3:00:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, seniors are struggling. This Saturday, the Liberals' plan to increase taxes will make things worse. The cost of gas, heating and groceries is going up.
Carmela, a senior, struggles to put food on her table each week and often skips a meal to make ends meet. That costly coalition is increasing the carbon tax and it will make the problem worse. Carmela wishes that this was just an April Fool's joke.
Will the Liberal government cancel the planned increase of the carbon tax this Saturday?
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- Mar/30/23 3:01:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we have been there, delivering for seniors. The party opposite has opposed every single measure that we have put forward.
Once again, in this budget, we are providing targeted support for Canadians who need it the most, including seniors, with our new grocery rebate that is going to give seniors additional money to pay for their groceries, with our new dental care plan that is going to get that dental care for seniors about whom they care. We are expanding the free automatic filing system so vulnerable seniors can have access to critical supports like the GIS.
If the Conservatives care about Canadians or seniors, they should vote for the budget.
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- Mar/30/23 3:01:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's new spending spree will cost every Canadian household $4,200 more. A family of four will pay $1,100 more for groceries this year alone and even more if one lives in the north.
On top of that bad news, families in the Northwest Territories that have already had to choose between paying for their heating bills or buying groceries will now see the Prime Minister increase the cost of home heating oil by 17¢ a litre this Saturday.
When will the Prime Minister and the costly coalition cut the carbon tax?
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- Mar/30/23 3:02:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleagues across the way do not seem to understand or recognize that 2.7 million more Canadians have been lifted out of poverty since this government came into power; that 830,000 more Canadians are working since the pandemic; that with the new grocery rebate we are proposing, a family of four will receive $467 to meet its daily needs.
On this side of the House, we stand up for Canadians. Those members do not ever stand up for them.
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- Mar/30/23 3:03:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, budget 2023 does a great deal to address affordability, including access to nutritious food. One of the really important measures in the budget is additional investments in the local food infrastructure fund, the LFIF.
Could the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food tell us more about this program and its impact on communities from coast to coast to coast?
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- Mar/30/23 3:03:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague from Pontiac. It is my pleasure to inform all our colleagues that budget 2023 includes a $10-million enhancement to the local food infrastructure fund.
This program was created as part of Canada's first official food policy and is designed to strengthen our local food systems and support the creation of more food banks, community gardens and collective kitchens. Even youth centres will be able to upgrade their equipment and enhance their services for those who need it most.
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- Mar/30/23 3:04:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, gas is going up. Home heating is going up. The cost of groceries is going up. This week, the NDP-Liberal costly coalition spendathon projects that the Liberals will collect another $69 billion in Canadian taxes because of its ineffective carbon tax.
Today's independent report on the carbon tax says that Nova Scotians will pay $1,513 more than they receive. The Liberal carbon tax punishes families and paycheques.
Will the Liberals show a little compassion and cancel their carbon tax grab?
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- Mar/30/23 3:05:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are closing tax loopholes on the wealthiest Canadians to make life more affordable for the middle class. Ninety-nine per cent of these measures will be affecting people who make over $300,000. Eighty per cent of these measures will be affecting Canadians who make over $1,000,000 a year.
Let us be clear that when the Conservatives talk about lowering taxes to protect powerful paycheques, they are actually talking about cutting taxes for the 1% and cutting services for workers, seniors, youth and everyone else.
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- Mar/30/23 3:05:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when the cost of living increases, women's shelters are extremely hard hit. Safe havens for those fleeing domestic violence could face closing their doors.
Yesterday, the Parliamentary Budget Officer reported that when the Liberals triple their carbon tax, it will cost a Newfoundland and Labrador family an additional $1,316 a year. Women's shelters incur expenses 40 times that of an average family.
Will the costly coalition show an ounce of compassion to those most vulnerable by cancelling this Saturday's carbon tax increase?
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- Mar/30/23 3:06:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I was proud to be parliamentary secretary and part of the Liberal government when the pandemic hit, and we stepped up to get money out the door right away to every single one of those women's shelters from coast to coast to coast.
When I stood up before and made a comment about the hurricane in my riding, someone on the other side said, “Oh, here she goes again.” Members should know that I am going to keep talking about that hurricane, because it is hundreds of millions of dollar of damage to small craft harbours, hundreds of millions of dollars of damage to infrastructure and hundreds of millions of dollars of damage to people's homes.
We are going to keep talking about that, because we have a plan to fix it.
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